


Vinny is a baby deer

by youcouldmakealife



Series: Vinny gets a life [5]
Category: Original Work
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-11
Updated: 2015-05-11
Packaged: 2018-03-30 03:21:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3921046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youcouldmakealife/pseuds/youcouldmakealife
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“No one gets mad at you,” Anton says. “Because you’re <i>adorable</i>.”</p><p>Thomas can feel his cheeks heat. “I’m not adorable,” he says.</p><p>Anton scrubs a hand through Thomas’ hair. “Okay, Bambi,” he says.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Vinny is a baby deer

Thomas likes training camp. He knows it’s crazy exhausting for a lot of the guys, and it’s not like him and Fournier and the kids from Hamilton are given a rest, and not like he isn’t fully aware he’s competing _with_ the kids from Hamilton, but there are times things are a little less busy for the goalies than the rest of the roster, and Fournier likes to start shit.

Fournier claims _Thomas_ likes to start shit, and the Hamilton traitors agree with him, but it’s all Michel. 

Last year, there was throwing of objects, but Thomas is still banned from throwing anything by coach’s decree, he checked with Gagnon at the beginning of training camp. He doesn’t see what the big deal is, Carmen’s black eye faded within the week, and Gagnon strong-armed him into pitching for a rec game against the Bulldogs (the Bulldogs won and it was embarrassing), but Gagnon was very clear about it.

Now, the game is to piss off as many forwards as possible without getting Gagnon’s attention from across the ice. Fournier and Edgar and Stanton have the edge there, because they’re allowed to throw things, but Thomas isn’t letting that get him down. Anton skates over to the bench to grab his water bottle, and he’s technically not worth any points, but Thomas can’t help it. He grabs Anton’s water bottle for him, and just as Anton’s shooting him a smile, sprays him in the face with it.

Water drips threateningly from Anton’s chin. Thomas thinks Stanton just gasped. 

“Minus one point for defencemen,” Fournier says. 

“What?” Thomas says. “That’s not a rule.”

“It is now,” Fournier says.

Anton’s eyelashes are all spiky and wet. He points silently at Thomas, and then skates away.

“Thomas!” Gagnon yells across the rink a minute later.

There’s something about Yves Gagnon using your first name. It’s terrifying. It’s basically as bad as when his parents use his full name, all Tho _mas_ An _toine_ Vin _cent_ , except he manages it in only one word. 

Edgar and Stanton flee. Cowards. “Tattletale!” Thomas yells at Anton.

“He didn’t have to say shit, you’re the only idiot who’d be spraying Petrov with water,” Gagnon says. “Thomas, go to the locker room.”

“Somebody’s grounded,” Fournier says, sing song, under his breath. 

“And stop encouraging him, Michel,” Gagnon adds, and Fourns winces.

Thomas punches Fournier’s arm and goes to sit his time-out time. Fournier might take the opportunity to rack up more points, but more likely he’ll behave, since Gagnon’s onto them now, and Stanton and Edgar took themselves out of the running the moment they fled. Thomas will consider this a draw.

When the day wraps up, Thomas wanders to Anton’s stall. He looks exhausted, along with the rest of the room. “Dinner?” Thomas asks. “My place? Greek?”

“No,” Anton says, narrowing his eyes at Thomas.

“But Tony,” Thomas says, dropping to his knees. “I missed you terribly.”

The call-ups are all staring, but all of the vets are ignoring them. Except Carmen. Carmen’s making the blowjob symbol, tongue planted in his cheek.

Anton nudges at Thomas’ torso with his sneaker, and Thomas falls backwards dramatically.

“I’m sorry for spraying you,” he tells the ceiling.

Anton leans into his vision.

“Only because you lost a point,” he says dryly.

“Well, yeah,” Thomas agrees. Anton gives him a hand up.

“I want to go to that Japanese place on St-Catherine,” Anton says.

That is not Greek and that is not Thomas’ place. It’s like Anton doesn’t listen at all. “Fine,” he agrees, long-suffering. He’s not a huge fan of Japanese, which Anton is well aware of, but he likes a couple of the dishes there, and he did miss Anton sort of terribly, he wasn’t really exaggerating.

A couple other guys tag along for dinner, and Thomas tells himself it’s stupid to be disappointed by that. The food’s decent, Thomas gets the least Japanese thing on the menu and is mocked mercilessly through dinner for it, and they’re done pretty early but everyone looks dead on their feet when they walk out of the restaurant.

“Hey,” Anton says, nudging Thomas’ shoulder when everyone splits up to head home. “Missed you terribly too, Vinny.”

Thomas is not responsible for the hug he gives in response.

*

Thomas gets through training camp and the preseason. Not that he didn’t expect to, they’re always going to be conservative about moving goalies up and down, and Thomas only came up from Hamilton when the position of back-up became vacant. But Stanton looked really good, and there’s always going to be that worry. 

Their first couple games are on the road. The room’s a little different, but mostly the same. Mayer’s up for the moment, no guarantee how long, because they bounce him back and forth from the Bulldogs constantly. Thomas really likes most of his team, likes most people, really, but Mayer kind of bugs him. He makes fun of people, which is typical, yeah, but the way he does it is more mean than affectionate. 

Carmen’s on one of his rambles between periods in Boston, which is, as usual, totally explicit. Thomas mostly tunes him out. It’s just Carmen’s default.

“You like morning sex, Vinny?” Carmen asks.

“Nope,” Thomas says distractedly, fiddling with a strap on his pads that feels too loose.

“Why even ask him?” Mayer asks, laughing. “It’s not like he’s had it.”

“Hey,” Carmen says, which gets overlapped with Anton saying, “Did you have a fucking comment, Mayer? Want to share it with the room?”

Fournier’s looking up sharply, Thomas can see through the corner of his eye. Thomas’ jaw tightens, because he doesn’t know what it is about him that Anton and Fourns and even freaking Carmen think he needs protecting every time someone’s a douche.

“Don’t,” Thomas says quietly to Fournier, and looks up to glare at Anton.

“Whatever,” Mayer says.

“Okay, but here’s why morning sex is overrated,” Carmen says loudly, and goes on to explain. In detail. 

*

Lapointe sits next to him at breakfast the next morning, and Thomas cuts a nervous look to Anton on his other side. Lapointe has made no secret of the fact that he wouldn’t take any bullshit about sexuality, and not just his own. The last thing he needs is a pep talk or something.

Lapointe surprises him. “When Dan went to the Senators, Mayer called him a cocksucker.”

“What?” Thomas asks.

“Some other things too,” Lapointe says with a wave of his hand. “Standard chirps. Dan didn’t tell me. I had to hear it from _Carruthers_.” He says the name with distaste, as he should.

“Okay?” Thomas says.

“Mayer is a moron,” Lapointe says flatly, and Thomas is startled into a laugh. Anton looks over, confused, and then frowning because he doesn’t understand French well enough to follow. 

“He is an uncreative boor,” Lapointe continues, “who is incapable of behaving with any maturity to the concept of any sexuality that is not within his heteronormative scope.”

That’s more of what Thomas was expecting from him. “Yeah, well,” he says, awkward.

“If you need to talk about --” Lapointe starts.

“I need another coffee,” Thomas says, standing so fast he bangs his knee on the underside of the table, which hurts like a bitch. 

To Anton and Lapointe’s credit, they both make sure he’s not seriously injured before they laugh at him.

“One day I’m going to learn French just to understand you assholes,” Anton says after breakfast.

“No you won’t,” Thomas says with confidence. They both know Anton’s French is a lost cause. 

“No I won’t,” Anton agrees. “What’d Lapointe say?”

“Mayer used homophobic chirps on his husband even after Lapointe was on the roster,” Thomas says.

Anton barks out a laugh. “And he’s still alive?” he asks.

“I don’t know why you all think Lapointe’s scary,” Thomas says. He’s scared of Lapointe giving him a _talk_ , but that’s it. He doesn’t get why some of the guys are afraid of Anton or Fourns either. He totally gets being scared of Gagnon, though, Gagnon’s scary. 

“Because you’re a baby deer,” Anton says.

“Huh?” Thomas asks.

“No one gets mad at you,” Anton says. “Because you’re _adorable_.”

Thomas can feel his cheeks heat. “I’m not adorable,” he says.

Anton scrubs a hand through Thomas’ hair. “Okay, Bambi,” he says. 

“I’m not adorable,” Thomas mumbles. 

“Hey Fournier,” Anton calls out as they approach the bus. “Vinny says he isn’t adorable.”

“Don’t involve me in this,” Fournier calls back, but on the bus he nudges Thomas’ shoulder and calls him a half dozen pet names Thomas usually gets from his mom until Thomas’ face is on fire. “So cute,” he coos, and keeps it up through Thomas elbowing him viciously.

“I’m not a baby deer,” Thomas mutters.

“Okay, Bambi,” Fournier says. 

Thomas thinks this nickname might stick. He hates his team.


End file.
